


Interrogation

by elenniel



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 16:43:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14217405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenniel/pseuds/elenniel
Summary: Musashi does a little interrogating on a hunch. And then so does Suzuna. [HirumaxMamori]





	1. Interrogation 1 - The Boys

Hiruma sat with his legs up on the table and his laptop balanced on his knees, typing away furiously. On the other side of the table sat Musashi, his feet also on the table and hands behind his head, listening to Kurita happily talk about their last game.

The door swung open and Anezaki Mamori walked in.

“Mamori-san! _Ohayo_!” called Kurita, waving a hand to the team manager.

Musashi nodded and smiled at her. Only Hiruma seemed to have no reaction; he merely glanced up for half a second then his eyes returned to his computer. Musashi noticed it – Hiruma was the only one in the team who barely seemed to notice the manager at times. But the girl had obviously learnt his ways, since she didn’t seem to expect anything from him and offered a cheerful smile to Musashi and Kurita, saying, “ _Ohayo_! I thought you might be hungry so I brought some cakes and cream puffs –”

“Can’t stay away from the cream puffs, can you, stupid manager?”

An irritated look creased her face. She opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by Hiruma – again – who flung a stopwatch at her and told her to go and check on “those damned shrimp” and the “Huh-huh brothers” in the field.

Musashi half-expected Mamori to dodge the stopwatch or to be hit by the flying timepiece, but instead she caught it deftly before it reached her. Her expression had smoothed, but annoyance was still evident in her voice as she snapped, “You _could_ be a bit nicer about it.” She turned on her heel and started out.

Kurita got up and said, “I’ll go check on the juniors too. Komusubi-kun and Juumonji-kun and the others might need help.”

“Ever the good _senpai_ , eh, Kurita?” said Musashi, grinning.

“Aa… Hahahah…” Kurita laughed, slightly embarrassed by Musashi’s words. “I try my best.”

The grin remained on Musashi’s face as he watched Kurita run after Mamori. As his gaze moved from the huge lineman to the slender manager, the grin faded and he turned to Hiruma.

“Oi.”

“What?”

“What’s up with you and Anezaki?”

“What’re you babbling about, old man?”

“Anezaki Mamori.”

“I know her name, stupid old man. I know everyone’s name.”

Musashi brought his legs down from the table and returned his chair to a more stable position. “You’re nicer to her than I thought you’d be.”

Hiruma ignored the statement and continued typing.

“I didn’t expect you to actually hire a manager. Nor one like Anezaki.”

“So what if I did?” The pink bubble of gum he’d been inflating popped and he continued chewing the gum.

“Why did you let her take the position?”

“Better her than Eyeshield 21. And anyway, she wouldn’t have let the shrimp alone otherwise.”

“Oh?”

The typing never stopped. Musashi wondered vaguely what sort of dark information his friend was dredging up. Hiruma’s information network and resources were incredible – and scary. Woe betide anyone who got on the devilish quarterback’s wrong side. He folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “What were the other reasons?”

“Do I need any other reasons?”

“No, but you have them. I’ve known you long enough, Hiruma. Those aren’t the only reasons you let her take the post. The others don’t know you that well and it probably wouldn’t ever cross Kurita’s mind, but _I_ know and it _has_ crossed my mind that you treat Anezaki rather better than most girls.”

“Tch.  She’s just useful,” said Hiruma, blowing another bubble of gum.

“Hmm. Really? Is that all?”

Seconds passed. Musashi let the silence hang in the air. He knew something was going on; he just wasn’t quite sure what. It wasn’t that Hiruma was mean to all girls, but rather that he ignored them on the whole. That he even deigned to speak to Suzuna was something of a small miracle, but then the hyperactive girl seemed to be able to squeeze herself into the team as the unofficial head cheerleader and certainly had her uses when it came to restraining her idiot brother.

But Anezaki Mamori was another thing altogether. Hiruma actually _talked_ to her. True, he talked in his usual coarse and crisp fashion, but still he talked to her. They’d even managed to work out some sort of sign language that only the both of them understood so she could signal him from the sidelines during a game. When Musashi had found out, he’d marvelled at the girl. Already the fact that she seemed to be quite unafraid of Hiruma was amazing. That she managed to communicate with him on a level beyond the most basic of conversations was even more astonishing.

“You like her, don’t you?” Musashi said at last.

No answer from Hiruma again. He seemed to not hear the question. But Musashi knew he’d heard it. For a moment there, the constant tapping of the keyboard had stopped. The sturdily-built kicker smirked.

“No?” he asked, a hint of slyness in his tone.

The blond boy made an irritated noise and glanced up at Musashi. “What is this – an interrogation?”

“Just asking,” said Musashi, spreading his hands noncommittally.

Hiruma glared and muttered something under his breath that Musashi was fairly sure he didn’t want to hear anyway. He looked at the team captain, who seemed to be absorbed in his laptop again. The smirk returned to his face. _This could be interesting_ …

Musashi got up from his seat and said, “I’m going.”

When the door shut behind him, Hiruma looked up from his laptop and stared long and hard at the door. Then he turned back to the screen and murmured, “Damn old man.”

 


	2. Interrogation 2 - The Girls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that part in the manga where Deimon met Ojou in that restaurant? (Volume 13, I think.) This was triggered from there. ;)

Three girls sat around the table, talking and laughing merrily. Anyone knowledgeable about the area’s American football teams would have recognised them fairly easily. Bouncy Taki Suzuna, unofficial head cheerleader of the Deimon Devil Bats, was animatedly gesturing while she talked. Anezaki Mamori, the Devil Bats’ manager and resident angel guardian, sat on the opposite side, with her winning gentle smile on her face. And then there was Wakana Koharu, the pretty manager of the Ojou White Knights.

That the three would meet up as often as they did was rather unexpected in the beginning, since they were on opposing sides that boasted two of the best running backs around in Eyeshield 21 and Shin Seijurou. But after Deimon and Ojou coincidentally met at a restaurant some time earlier, the girls hit it off with each other so well they maintained the friendship by getting together every few weeks or so when they could just for a chat and lunch or dinner.

Suzuna leapt out of her seat, demonstrating Monta’s favourite “max!!” pose to Koharu in the middle of a hilarious anecdote about the Devil Bats’ recent practice.

Koharu, slightly embarrassed by the looks the other people were giving them thanks to Suzuna’s Monta act, laughed a little and whispered to Mamori, “I suppose she’s like this even at practice, Mamo-nee?”

“Pretty much as hyper as she is now,” acquiesced Mamori. “But the guys are generally better entertainment. You understand, I’m sure,” she added, with a knowing look at her Ojou counterpart.

Both managers started laughing, to Suzuna’s surprise, as her story hadn’t yet reached the really funny part.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“Er, we were just thinking about how funny the boys can be during practices,” explained Koharu. “I imagine your team would be especially funny...”

“Why? Isn’t Ojou any fun?”

“It can be. I – I’m not saying they’re boring,” said Koharu. “But the Ojou boys are generally more serious than Deimon’s. They’re great, but… Um, I mean… Well, you won’t catch Shin or Ichiro-kun cracking many jokes. Even Sakuraba-kun doesn’t joke around much. But in Deimon you have crazy people like Monta-kun or Taki-kun that provide the laughs and –”

Suzuna interrupted her with a cough. “ _Ichiro-kun_?” Her big eyes gazed mischievously at Koharu.

Koharu stared at her and instantly, Suzuna latched onto the opportunity to dig out more interesting gossip.

“The last time I asked you, you said you weren’t dating anyone on the team…”

“I’m not!” protested Koharu.

“Oh really?” Suzuna blinked meaningfully. “But since when do you call Takami ‘Ichiro-kun’, hmm?”

“We’re just friends,” began Koharu, going ever-so-slightly pink.

Mamori decided to intercede before Suzuna started harrassing the poor girl too much. Wakana Koharu was of a more introverted personality – not well-equipped to handle Suzuna’s persistent line of questioning, especially not in this matter. Suzuna already had a preconceived notion that Koharu was dating Ojou’s Takami or that she had a crush on the tall quarterback. And Suzuna was not easily deterred.

“Suzuna, let it go. I believe Koharu-chan. Don’t disturb her so,” said Mamori, trying to be gentle yet firm in turning Suzuna’s mind from the topic of Koharu and Takami Ichiro.

She found that she succeeded better than she wanted to, for the next moment, Suzuna swung round to her and said, “I think _you’re_ a bit suspicious yourself, Mamo-nee.”

 _Uh oh_ , she thought. _That line sounds a bit **too** familiar…_

“I –”

“What about you and Hiruma?” asked Suzuna, the mischievous inquiring eyes now turned on Mamori.

 “Hiruma?!” exclaimed Mamori in surprise.

Koharu looked at Suzuna, then at Mamori. She looked as surprised as Mamori at the suggestion.

“Are you suuuuure there’s nothing going on between you two?”

“What? No!” said the Deimon manager, emphatically. “What on earth gives you that idea?”

“It’s the classic story setup! Good and bad, opposites attract and all that. _And_ there’s the captain-manager thing as well.” Suzuna cast a sly look back at Koharu after that last sentence. “Though I’m not sure I see just what there is to like about Hiruma-senpai. He’s just so mean and scary sometimes…”

“He’s not – ” Mamori stopped short, feeling surprised at herself. Had she just been about to defend Hiruma? No, it was a normal reaction for her… She could still remember how Hiruma was on the Death March – she’d seen the side of him that wasn’t quite as frightening as everyone else thought. So it was natural that she’d think otherwise of him (not that she had been much afraid of him to begin with). Yes… It was a natural reaction, she reasoned.

“You were saying something, Mamo-nee?” said Suzuna.

Mamori shook her head slightly, as if to clear her mind. “I was just saying that Hiruma’s not all bad. There may be people out there who are cruel through and through, but there’s no one in the Devil Bats who’s like that. Not Juumonji-kun and his friends, not Hiruma. Don’t you think so, Koharu-chan?”

“I agree,” said Koharu. “Even in Ojou, there’s that Ikari who’s so violent Otawara-san has to put him in chains half the time; but I don’t think even he is a hundred percent bad.”

Suzuna was not to be thus sidetracked. “Perhaps,” she said with a shrug. “But Mamo-nee, you can’t deny that you’re in a particularly good setup. You’re the manager, he’s the captain,” – another sly glance at Koharu – “you’re both in the same class, you’re both really smart, and I guess in a weird way your personalities balance each other out. That’s probably the only really strange part, but that seems to work fine anyway…”

 _She’s making this sound like some love story_ , thought Mamori. She sighed, thinking that Suzuna’s internal ‘love antenna’ was on hyperdrive along with the rest of her.

“Suzuna.”

“… and you’re like a saint and he’s the devil in disguise…”

“Er, Suzuna,” said Koharu, seeing that Mamori was trying to end Suzuna’s overactive imagination.

Suzuna didn’t seem to hear either of them.

“… Then there’s the whole sign language thing. You said he tore up the list. Why did he? Sounds like he wanted to keep it just between _you_ and _him_ …”

Mamori was slowly and gradually getting irritated, sweet-tempered though she was. Then Koharu’s phone suddenly rang, proving enough of an interruption to halt Suzuna’s train of thought in its tracks. Mamori sent Koharu a grateful look.

  

Later, after saying goodbye to the other two, Mamori found herself thinking, _Why **did** he tear up that list?_

**Author's Note:**

> Initially posted on FFN in October 2006, and my second fanfic ever.  
> Thus begins the slow porting of my fanfics over from FFN to AO3. Do drop a line if you ever read any of my stuff from back then! (Though I daresay it's been too long ago for fics such as this...)


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